It's pronounced "ber-know". Similarly, the old Slavic name for Berlin was Brlo, pronounced "ber-low", and there is a craft brewery of that name in Berlin.
Brno is like Prague, only a lot smaller and quieter. Similar buildings, fewer stag parties, same cheap beer. Staff in bars and hotels and restaurants mostly speak English, but for more complex needs it can be a bit of a struggle. In my case, I visited a launderette, and my tentative enquiry of 'English?' was met with a rather melodramatic toss of the head and a dismissive snort of 'No' from over the shoulder. What annoys me about these over-ostentatious knockbacks is that you suspect - scratch that, you just know - that when these people go on holiday to Turkey or Sweden, or Thailand or Japan, they'll use basic English rather than bothering with the local language. I can't prove it but I'm sure it's true. (I have a much clearer conscience about these things since I acquired a second language of my own.)
There isn't much to see here, and nothing much has happened, so I'll turn my attention to a subject which never runs dry: food. This week there are two Edd vs Foods for your gratification ('eddification'?). The first is a lovely Czech meal which looked really naff in my photo so I've included the official menu photo as well. The second is from a bistro called Kalifornan, an interesting new chain where they don't have a menu as such. Instead they have a selection of fresh food all laid out on the counter - hot & cold, spicy & mild, meat & veg, wet & dry, it all varies from day to day - and they fill up a generously-sized bowl as per your specification. I had lunch there on two consecutive days and loved it both times. I think we need to bring this to the UK.
Incidentally I've called it 'Czechia' above, but in road signs and elsewhere you still see it referred to as 'Czech Republic', and indeed it's still called that in various official and diplomatic contexts. I've done extensive research (Google & Wikipedia) and it does appear that the point of the change is nothing more than that 'Czechia' is easier to say and quicker to write, especially when it comes to sports teams and tourist guides. Or at least it will be one day, after the 30 to 40 years it takes everyone to remember it.
One thing that came out of my in-depth Googling and Wikipediating - am I the only one who didn't realise that France isn't called France? It is, officially, 'The French Republic'. I'm fairly sure we all knew that 'America' is really the US of A, and that our own homeland, much-missed in my case, is formally the UK of GB and NI. You can find more scintillating surprises here. I'll shut up now. Less is more.
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| Freedom Square |
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| Gloomy clouds behind Dietrichstein Palace, overlooking the Cabbage Market |
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| Church of St Thomas Note the long-legged horse in blocker boots at the bottom right of the church. Formal title: Equestrian Statue of Margrave Jobst of Luxembourg |
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| Villa Tugendhat At first glance it looks like a moderately unpleasant piece of contemporary architecture. It was in fact designed and built in 1929-30. |
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| Znojmo (small Czech town on the river Thaya, just over the border from Austria, on the way to Brno) |
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| Edd vs Food #121 Svíčková at Stopkova Plzeňská Pivnice Pot roasted beef in cream/vegetable sauce, served with bread dumplings & Carlsbad dumplings. The whipped cream melts into the sauce and oh boy it's good eating. |
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| Edd vs Food #122 Consecutive lunches at Kalifornan (see blog above) Left: beef, rice, sweet potatoes, spicy creme fraiche, etc. Right: chicken, couscous, spicy green beans, hummus, nachos, buffalo mayo, etc. |
